A/N- Posted 1/28/2016 I don't own HTTYD.
Hello everyone! First off I would like to thank everyone for their continued support for this story. Now, on to the story!
Chapter 26- Insanity
Toothless's POV
The temperature had rapidly dropped as the sun had dipped behind the horizon. The night sky was unblemished by clouds and instead shone via the full moon, the numerous stars, and the colorful borealis. The sea below was still and calm and in places had frozen into immense sheets of ice. Both the calm waters and newly frozen plates of ice reflected the night sky creating a night that was nearly as bright as day.
I noticed none of this beauty however as my wings pumped tirelessly as I fought to return to Hiccup with all do haste. As always I could feel Hiccup through our shared bond. However, what before had been a dull pain and intense sensation of concentration was now waves of immeasurable agony and mental pressure. Something had gone horribly wrong.
The immediate rush in which I had felt Hiccup's vast pain indicated that he had probably been nulling the pain that leaked through to me, trying to lessen its effect upon me. I now realized that he had probably been trying to protect me from his pain as he had ordered me away. On the one paw I was a little irritated that he had hidden his pain from me, on the other paw however I knew I probably would have done the same.
The waves of pain that had incapacitated Hiccup drove me to greater speeds to reach him as quickly as possible, if not faster. My innate magical energies were arcing along my body, cracking the still night air. It wasn't long before I saw our island on the horizon. With a final burst of energy I shot down toward our new home, the air shattering in a concussive boom as I made my final descent.
My dramatic and frantic entrance drew the attention of every dragon in the cove to me as I hurried to find Hiccup. A few of them gave a brief nod of greeting, yet I was too hurried to respond in any manner. As I searched I noticed that several of the dragons were shaking their heads in pain and their pupils were rapidly contracting and expanding, evidence of a mental conflict. This drove my worry to new heights as I concluded it to be a side effect of the parasitical fragment the queen had imbedded in Hiccup's memories.
Almost immediately Luna called me over to the entrance to Hiccup's forge. I leapt over several dragons that were lying about fighting the mental compulsions that were permeating the air. The battle raging within Hiccup's head was spiraling out of control. Luna and Sharpshot were leaning over Hiccup's prone form that lay just within the forge. With my arrival they both stepped back to allow me access to my brother. Hiccup was twitching erratically and occasionally mumbling under his breath which was quick and shallow.
"How did this happen?" I demanded of Luna and Sharpshot. I barely recognized the tiredness in their eyes.
"We don't know for sure. One moment he looked fine and we only felt a dull ache emanating from him. The next he was on the ground and the pain increased tenfold. I imagine his dual with the parasite reached a tipping point and it wasn't in Hiccup's favor." Luna responded.
"He had been sitting here on his workbench entrenched within his own mind. The first few hours seemed almost benign. We thought he was deep in thought. It wasn't until later when we started to sense his stress that we realized the situation may be more ominous than we previously believed." Sharpshot tacked on.
"And none of you did anything to help him!?" I shouted, the pain I felt from Hiccup lending itself to my anguish.
"The dragons that languished under the queen's thrall have no experience with fighting a mental foe, and they have unfortunately become attuned to the burden of the queen's mental presence. They are trying to fend her off, but to no real effect. I too have no real experience with mental combat nor am I well enough accustomed with Hiccup's mind to even attempt to aid him." Luna said trying to placate my raging emotions.
"Unfortunately the queen's parasitical presence has fed upon Hiccup's mind and now seeks other minds to corrupt with its madness. Hiccup remains but only just. He now focuses his efforts to not only defend himself but also those around him." Luna continued.
As I stood over the pale form of my best friend, I was frozen in fear and indecisiveness. From what Luna and Sharpshot described, it sounded like Hiccup had been suffering in silence for several hours, and now the queen had devoured and corrupted large portions of Hiccup's memories. Knowing how many of Hiccup's memories were already… unwanted, I feared the queen had plenty to use against Hiccup. I also feared that if I were to delve into Hiccup's mind I could fall victim to the queen's subversion. I had no clear idea of what I could do to help.
As I remained in my inaction, Hiccup continued to suffer. Another lance of pain shot through the bond as another portion of Hiccup fell to the corruption. Part of me wanted to leap right into Hiccup's mind and do everything I could to burn the impurities from my friend. However, my fear of the queen and her previous enslavement of my kind stood before me like a wall, imposing and resolute. I recalled the battle that waged between Hiccup and the queen the first time they dueled it out. I had felt like an ant stuck between a war of giants. I had cowered behind Hiccup's mental presence and admired him from afar. What could I do against a presence that had brought him to his knees?
It was that thought that finally stopped me. Here I was cowering once again behind others. Avoiding what needed to be done just because it wasn't going to be pretty or easy. Hiccup had always believed in me driving me to greater heights, be it in flight, in combat, or in facing what I wished to avoid. He had always been strong, even when the world beat him into the ground he would shrug it off and continue on like nothing had happened. He had always been strong enough for the both of us. Now it was my turn.
I curled around Hiccup's body and prepared myself for what I was about to do. Without wasting another moment in fear that I would talk myself out of it I dived into the mental battleground.
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Luna's POV
I worried for Toothless and Hiccup. Hiccup had been fighting of the queen's mental corruption for nearly a day and a half. Through the undeveloped bond Hiccup shared with all the dragons here I could feel the turmoil that raged in Hiccup's mind. Thankfully, I had never felt the queen's mental presence before and therefore the fragment that resided in Hiccup seemed to have no interest in me.
The other dragons weren't as lucky. I stood witness as the parasite wormed its way into the other dragon's thoughts and began its evil work in subverting their souls. Not all the dragons were as affected as the rest. A lucky few even seemed to remain free of any corruption, but very few were in that number.
With Toothless's arrival I began to hope. Surely the Kaal Dov's chosen could bring balance to his spiritual brother. Yet as I explained the situation to Toothless I could see the panic in his eyes. The fear for Hiccup was evident, but there was also an underling current of emotions that I wasn't privy to. My hope began to crumble as I witnessed his indecisiveness. Thankfully, it wasn't long before a hardened steel entered his eyes. He stood a little taller and a bit straighter. With that he curled around Hiccup and cove into the conflict.
The effect was immediate. I could feel it in the air as the struggle subsided, if only a little. Hiccup's erratic twitching came to a stop and he lay still. What had before been an unrelenting tidal wave of pain, lessened to a deep low throbbing. More of the dragons were freed from the conflict.
The newly freed looked about in panic, fearing the queen had returned to take their minds once again. I set about calming them and helping them understand the situation. Hiccup and Toothless remained frozen, their minds melded together. I could still feel the barest tendrils of Hiccup's mind reaching to the free dragons that remained in the cove. It amazed me that even through all the pain he must be going through he continued to protect those under his care.
I had no idea what trials and struggles the two were going through in their ordeal with the queen. By now the stillness of the two was starting to worry me. If it weren't for the extremely quiet sound of their heart beats and their faint breath I would have thought they were dead. Several hours had passed since Toothless had joined minds with Hiccup. I organized the fearful dragons as best I could and tried to get some semblance of order established.
Turmoil, pain, and madness rolled off of Toothless and Hiccup in mental waves. Whatever they were fighting was taking a serious toil on them, and I wasn't sure just how much longer they could last.
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Toothless's POV
When I entered Hiccup's mind I was surprised to find myself in a seemingly physical place. A heavy gray fog hung over the world, hiding who knew what behind its mysterious veil. A moment's observation revealed me to be standing upon a sea stack. I could barely hear the lap of the ocean upon its base far below. I also noticed that I was a bit different than normal. When I looked down at my paw it appeared hazy and out of focus.
Curious, I continued to examine my body. It was to my great surprise when I found that I wasn't wearing my saddle and the tail rigging was missing. In addition, my tail was whole! I took a moment to admire this strange phenomenon.
Suddenly a great shadow passed by me. I could feel the wind grow colder and the silence became more foreboding. Staying here may not be the best idea, I thought to myself. With that I launched myself into the air. In hindsight, it may not have been a very good idea. Without the sea stack to orientate myself to it immediately became impossible to determine which direction was which. The ominous shadow seemed to circle ever closer to me.
Find Hiccup.
With that thought I changed course ever slightly and started off in that direction. It just seemed… right. A few moments later I noticed the fog appeared to be clearing, if only faintly. It wasn't much longer before I came upon a familiar beach. The rocky beach of Helhiem's Gate, home of queen.
I landed on the ground and continued to trek inland towards the mountain's face. Before long I spotted Hiccup, sitting against the mountain, chin pressed into his chest, legs curled up to him, and with his arms wrapped around himself. I quickly bounded over to him and lay down in front of him. He didn't even move at the sound of my approach. While I was a hazy image, Hiccup was sharp and clear. The muffled sound of crying whispered through the silence, adding to the eeriness of the situation.
"Hiccup?" my voice came out low and much quieter than I had intended.
At first I thought he hadn't heard me as he gave no indication. I was about to speak up again when a muffled voice responded.
"Go away. I know you're not real. Just go away." He sounded so tired, so… defeated. It tore at my soul seeing him so broken.
"Hiccup, it's me. I'm here. I'm real. I swear I'm real." I said hopping to break through to him, begging he would acknowledge me.
"Toothless?" Hiccup looked up from
"I'm here Hiccup. I'm here." I smiled, happy beyond measure that he wasn't yet gone.
A sudden roar rumbled through the air, shaking the ground. Hiccup looked deep into the fog his eyes full of terror. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the shadow that had been stalking me disappear once again.
"Why won't they leave me alone? I just want to be left alone. Please, go away, I didn't mean to. It was an accident." Hiccup's sudden babbling surprised me, not only by its intensity but also but the desperation that I heard in it.
"Make them stop Toothless. Tell them it wasn't my fault." Hiccup curled around himself once again. The terror evident in his voice.
"What are you talking about Hiccup? Who do you hear? It's just us…" Then I heard them. A cacophony of voices each demanding Hiccup's attention.
"Why did you leave Hiccup? Why did you kill me Hiccup? You can't do anything right, can you? You took my flight? It's your fault, isn't it? Why did I have to die? Useless. Unwanted. Weakling. Failure. Unloved. Runt. Hiccup." I was horrified to hear my voice among those that were haunting Hiccup.
"Hiccup! Don't listen to them. None of its true."
"Maybe it is…"
"NO!" My solemn declaration ripped through the air silencing the other voices. Hiccup perked up slightly with the sudden silence. The only sound being my heavy breathing as my raging emotions tore through me.
A low laugh started echoing through the fog. The shadow could now be seen slowly coming towards us. I curled around Hiccup ready to defend him from whatever manifestation of his mind came too torment him. Heavy black smoke started billowing forth from the shadow.
"Toothless? I am afraid." Hiccup whispered.
I then realized what had felt so wrong about all this. This Hiccup wasn't the one that fought through thick and thin to bring down the queen. This wasn't the Hiccup that had faced Odin. This wasn't the Hiccup that had brought peace to the dragons of the nest. This was the little boy that had been tormented by his whole tribe, the lost soul that desperately needed to escape, and he was afraid because he never had been giving the chance to shine.
With a quiet sigh I responded.
"So am I Hiccup, but you know what? That's okay. It's okay to be afraid. Everyone is afraid at some point or another. The only way you can beat your fears, to overcome them, is to face them head on. Stare your fear in the eye and say 'I am not afraid.' Don't let your fear cripple you."
Hiccup sat up a little and stared at the oncoming shadow. His eyes glazed over as if mulling over my words. The fog and smoke broke and the head of the queen broke through. Jaws open we were left staring down the rows of teeth, the heat of her flame boiled in the back of her throat. Her eyes only held malice for us tearing into us.
I wasn't lying to Hiccup when I told him I was afraid, but I would stick with him. I remembered that all of this was happening inside Hiccup's head, but somehow that didn't comfort me. I believed that if we died here we would be just as dead if we died in the physical world.
Unfortunately this was a manifestation of Hiccup's fears fueled by the hatred and magic of the late queen. I couldn't do anything to stop this. I could only offer my support. This was up to Hiccup. If only he would hurry up about it I thought to myself with a grim smile. I trusted him.
As if sensing my urgency and my backing Hiccup stood up and approached the queen.
"I am…" Hiccup stuttered out before stopping and taking a deep breath. Then with head held high and his posture screaming confidence he spoke once more. "I am not afraid."
The words reverberated through the world shaking everything. The queen started to crumble to ash before disappearing in the wind. The smoke and fog cleared leaving us on the rocky beach of the nest. However it was far less terrifying now. The sound of waves breaking on the beach broke the silence.
"I am not afraid." Hiccup said again barely a whisper. He turned and looked at me the old fire and liveliness I was used to burning once more. "Thank you Toothless."
"Don't you ever order me away again!" I demanded as I hit him on the back of the head with my tail.
"I promise." Hiccup replied with a smile. "There is one more thing I need to do though."
Immediately I was thrown from Hiccup's mind back to the normal world. The sun was dipping behind the horizon. Hiccup had darted into his forge and retrieved the non-autonomous tail fin. He was about to remove the automatic one before he froze.
"Um… Do you want to control your own flight?" he asked tentatively.
In response I just stared at him in disbelief and slid my tail closer to him.
"Right." He said with a smile as he unfastened the autonomous fin and replaced it.
As he finished and came up to hop in the saddle I turned my head and gave him a big sloppy lick across the front to let him know I was happy he was okay.
He climbed in the saddle grumbling about it not washing out but I could tell it had cheered him up, if only a little.
With a leap we shot into the sky once more. Ready to take on the world.
A/N- Again thank you to everyone that has read, favorited, followed, and/or reviewed. You wouldn't believe how much it means to me. There probably won't be a chapter next week as I am writing a chapter for HTTYD: Community Style 3. If you haven't read it I would definitely suggest giving it a go. It is turning into quite the adventure.
Note: HTTYD: CS 3 is in desperate need for more writers. If any of you have any interest at trying your hand at a bit of HTTYD fanfiction or if writing a chapter off of the work of others sounds like a fun challenge to you this is a great opportunity. Just contact Dawnbreaker Dragon if you are interested.